Chapter 1: Law and Legal Reasoning
Legal Realist School
The idea that each person has intrinsic biases that impact their decisions
Procedural Law
The methods of enforcing the rights established by substantive law
Case Briefing
Used by legal professionals to analyze court decisions that are relevant to their clients' cases
State Statutory Law
Created by elected members of the state legislature
Stare Decisis
creates predictability in the legal system
Common Law Developed from
the unification of local customs and laws in feudal England
Procedural Law
A hearing or court case is governed by
party names, location of the published case, court, and date of decision
A legal citation for a court decision is used by legal professionals to research the law, and includes:
Congress
Creates federal statutory law
IRS
Example of of federal agency regulations that impact business operations
Substantive Law
Governs a person's rights and responsibilities
May Create New Precedent
If a trial court judge is deciding an issue that has never come before the court (a case of first impression), they:
Under Common Law
In a case of first impression, a judge may use persuasive authorities rather than precedents
United States Reports
The abbreviation "U.S." in the legal citation Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954) references the:
Natural Law
The belief that as humans we are all entitled to certain fundamental rights
Tools to locate a court decision
online legal research engines such as Lexis, Westlaw, or Bloomberg bound volumes of reported court decisions, organized by jurisdiction, date, and courts
